Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the mercury content and fatty acids profile in roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) and European perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) from Lake Łańskie (Poland). Mercury content was higher in the muscles than other organs in both species (p < 0.05). Mercury accumulates along the food chain of the lake’s ecosystem. The value of the bioconcentration factor (BCF) indicated that Hg had accumulated in the highest amounts in muscles and in the other organs as follows: muscles > liver > gills > gonads. The metal pollution index (MPI) and target hazard quotient (THQ) were below 1, which means that these fish are safe for consumers. The values of HIS, GSI and FCF indicators show that both species of fish can be good indicators of water quality and food contamination. There were few differences between fatty acid content in the muscles of perch and roach. Contents of fatty acids having an undesirable dietary effect in humans (OFA—hypercholesterolemic fatty acids) were lower compared to hypocholesterolemic fatty acids (DFA, i.e., the desirable ones). In addition, the lipid quality indices AI and TI in the muscles of fish were at 0.40 and 0.22 (perch) and at 0.35 and 0.22 (roach), respectively. On this basis, it can be concluded that the flesh of the fish studied is beneficial from the health point of view.
Highlights
The quality of the aquatic environment and its impact on the organisms that live in it, especially those that are subject to human consumption, rise serious concerns these days
Regardless of the species, a positive correlation was found between mercury content in the muscles and the fish weight (Table 2), with respective correlation coefficients determined for perch and roach at r = 0.785 (p = 0.012) (Figure 3a) and r = 0.777
There were no significant differences between the value of the thrombogenicity index (TI), flesh-lipid quality index (FLQ), hypercholesterolemic fatty acids (OFA)
Summary
The quality of the aquatic environment and its impact on the organisms that live in it, especially those that are subject to human consumption, rise serious concerns these days. Several species best indicate the quality of the reservoir. These include vendace (Coregonus albula L.), smelt (Osmerus eperlanus L.), bleak (Alburnus alburnus L.), perch The bioconcentration index (BCF) is used to estimate the contamination in trophic chains based on the information about pollutant concentration of substances in the body and in the external environment [2,3]. It usually differs among various pollutants and even within one species [2], Int. J. Public Health 2020, 17, 7595; doi:10.3390/ijerph17207595 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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